Page 24 of Nitro

“I appreciate his thoughtfulness, but I don’t want us to go too slow either,” I confessed.

I continued, “What if the fire between us goes out all of a sudden? I mean, I just found out Nitro had an ex, and although it was just one off-hand comment, it seemed they were serious.”

“Tommy, take deep breaths,” Dylan instructed.

I realized I had said those last words in a rush.

When Nitro mentioned Gin, I thought I wouldn’t be bothered by it.

It happened five years ago, after all, but it turned out I was just lying to myself.

I breathed in, then breathed out slowly. “I’m good,” I told him.

“You seriously have nothing to worry about, Tommy. Have you seen the way Nitro looks at you?” Dylan asked me.

I slowly nodded. I thought it was vain for me to think that when Nitro and I were together, he only saw me, like the rest of the world didn’t matter.

“He’s crazy about you,” Dylan confirmed. “So no worries there. Tommy, talk to him and tell him if the pace is too sluggish or too fast for you. Communication is key in any successful relationship.”

“Thanks for the advice, o great sage,” I said.

For that remark, Dylan punched me in the shoulder. Communication, huh? I could do that.

Nitro always encouraged me to say what was on my mind, but I always got shy when it came down to serious or sensitive issues.

That had to change.

“I mean it,” I added. “If I haven’t told you this before, thank you for continuing to be my friend despite everything that happened between us. I never had the chance to make adult friends.”

Dylan’s cheeks and neck turned red, and I thought maybe I was channeling too much of Nitro’s bluntness.

I decided to tone it down.

“So are you going to eat the rest of your chips, or can I have them?” I asked.

Dylan pushed the rest of his chips my way. For the rest of our lunch break, we moved to less serious conversation topics.

I asked him how his relationship with his mate Whizz was going. Dylan always lit up whenever he talked about Whizz.

Those two were my couple goals. Would Nitro and I be like that someday?

We’d get there eventually, I told myself, but there was still a lot of work to do.

NITRO

I took a deep breath, trying to calm the nerves that were practically dancing beneath my skin.

Venom's office was never a place I enjoyed being, especially when there was a mess to clean up.

Olaf's refusal to answer my calls only added to the mounting tension.

Spike, well, he was great at having my back in fights, but delicate negotiations weren't exactly his forte.

So, once again, I found myself standing in front of Venom's door.

Venom had given me one simple job, but all I could think about was being somewhere else—somewhere with Tommy.

The image of Tommy at the kindergarten flashed in my mind. His warmth, his smile—the taste of his lips.

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